Merritt Island Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Chuck Nelson says he's preparing to leave his job at MIRA, so he can focus on his campaign for County Commission in District 2.

"My intent is to get out of here as quickly as I can" from the MIRA job, said Nelson, a Republican who announced on Jan. 8 that he would be a candidate for the seat now held by Republican Jim Barfield, who is not seeking re-election to a second four-year term.

"I would certainly like to get out of here sooner, rather than later," Nelson said, adding that he hopes it would be a matter of days or weeks, rather than months.

But first, Nelson said he would like to help the agency line up someone to fill an existing vacancy for MIRA's special projects coordinator position.

Nelson has been MIRA executive director since October. He was District 2 County Commissioner from 2006 to 2014, but could not seek re-election that year because of the position's term limit of two consecutive four-year terms. He previously was Brevard County's parks and recreation director for nearly 15 years.

But District 3 County Commissioner John Tobia — who is no fan of Nelson — contends that what Nelson told the MIRA board during his Aug. 30 job candidate interview wasn't exactly what turned out to be the reality.

When Nelson was asked by MIRA board member Andy Barber during the interview process whether he saw himself running for political office in the next two to three years, Nelson said: "Gosh, I hope not. I don't have any plans to. I certainly hope and would encourage everyone to convince Commissioner Barfield to run again. So I don't have any plans to do that, Andy."

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Former Brevard County Commissioner Chuck Nelson, a Republican, is one of two Republicans and three Democrats who are candidates for the District 2 County Commission seat now held by Republican Jim Barfield, who is not seeking re-election in 2018.(Photo: TIM SHORTT/FLORIDA TODAY FILE PHOTO)

Nelson said he felt Barfield has done a good job as county commissioner.

Nelson said, if Barfield didn't run, "I'm never going to say never" about seeking the position.

"The irony is that I would only do it to try to protect the agency," Nelson said. "What I would commit to you is that if I ever lose my mind again like that, I would do my best to make sure that the agency is set up for success, if I were to have to leave. But I don't want to."

MIRA Board of Directors Chair Wendy Ellis then followed up to say that one of her concerns would be having someone actively running for office while also serving as MIRA executive director — especially if the MIRA executive director loses the election and the person who wins has bad feelings toward MIRA because of the campaign.

Nelson responded in his job interview that, if he became MIRA executive director, he would resign if he later decided to run for County Commission — just as he expected from county employees he supervised in the past who were planning to seek elected office.

Barber and Ellis both say they have no issue with Nelson continuing to serve as MIRA executive director to facilitate the transition in the agency.

"I know he's trying to get out quickly," Barber said.

Barber said his only disappointment is that, with Nelson's candidacy for county commissioner, Nelson will not continue to serve as MIRA executive director.

"He's a very talented guy," Barber said.

Ellis said she has no second-thoughts about the hiring of Nelson as MIRA executive director, albeit, it turned out, for a relatively short tenure.

"Six months of Chuck Nelson is better than not having Chuck Nelson," Ellis said. "In the time that he has been there, he has accomplished a lot. He loves Merritt Island, and is very up to speed" on the community's needs.

Tobia, though, contends that Nelson wasn't totally upfront with the MIRA board during his interview.

"This is just another example of why people don’t trust the word of people running for elected office," Tobia said. "However, I am confident that the people of District 2 will not be hoodwinked into electing a liberal who has an eight-year voting history of raising taxes and fees."

Nelson said, at the time of the Aug. 30 interview, he had no intention of running for office again, as he expected that Barfield would be seeking re-election.

Barfield in November announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018, because his expanding business will not afford him the time to do both jobs. Barfield is president, chief executive officer and co-owner of Rockledge-based Luke & Associates Inc., which was awarded a major contract by the Defense Health Agency to provide medical staffing services for that agency, as well as for the Air Force, Army and Navy.

In response to Tobia's comments about him, Nelson said Tobia "wants to select his own candidate for this district, and that's something the voters will see through. I think it's unfortunate when a commissioner gets involved in a race that's not in his district."

The general view of those following the County Commission politics is that Tobia is seeking to build a voting coalition on the five-member commission through the 2018 election.

Commission Vice Chair Kristine Isnardi in District 5 sometimes — but not always —votes with Tobia when there are split votes.

Tobia's strategy is to get people who are like-minded elected to the two seats up for election this year — the District 2 seat held by Barfield and the District 4 seat held by Republican Curt Smith — both of whom generally are on the opposite side as Tobia when there are split votes. Former County Commissioner Trudie Infantini, a likely ally of Tobia, is challenging Smith in a Republican primary in District 4.

There currently are five candidates for the District 2 seat: Republicans Nelson and Robyn Hattaway, as well as Democrats Victoria Mitchner, Jack Smink and Ron Taylor. Four other announced Republican candidates withdrew from the race within the last three weeks.

During a Jan. 29 MIRA board meeting — the first one since Nelson announced his candidacy for County Commission — Nelson told the board that it was up to them whether they wanted him to help in the transition or leave right away.

"Just in the way of a disclaimer: I do not work on the campaign while I'm at the office," Nelson said. "First of all, if you want me to walk out of here right now, I can do that. So it's not about me staying around to make money. That is not the issue. I would like to see a transition where a lot of things we have currently underway are able to be managed and continued."

"I am in full concurrence in everything" that Nelson is saying, Ellis told her fellow board members.

Ellis said she appreciates the fact that he is willing to stay on for a transition period, "so that we don't leave the office without anyone knowing what's going on with the projects that we have going on."

The board took no formal vote, but no board members said during the meeting that Nelson should resign immediately.

Ellis indicated that she had discussions with Nelson and county management prior to the MIRA board meeting, and there was an agreement that there needed to be "a smooth transition."

Nelson was one of 51 applications for the MIRA executive director position when it opened last year.

The MIRA board of directors unanimously voted to interview five of those applicants: Nelson, Amy Adams, Joan Junkala, Casey Meyers and Courtney Reynolds. Ellis said the five formal interviews on Aug. 30 each lasted about 1½ hours, with the candidates given an additional half-hour for back-and-fourth questions with the board.

Of the six MIRA board members who interviewed the five candidates, Nelson was rated first by four directors; Junkala was rated first by one director; and Nelson and Reynolds were rated tied for first by one director.

Nelson was the No. 1 candidate in the cumulative rankings by the board and Junkala was No. 2. Their names were submitted to County Manager Frank Abbate for consideration and additional interviews, and Abbate chose Nelson.

Candidate workshops planned

Brevard County Supervisor Lori Scott is hosting two candidate workshops on Feb. 21 for people interested in running for public office or those wanting to learn more about the process.

Both a morning and afternoon workshop presentation will be held at the supervisor of elections office in the Viera Government Center, Building C, Suite 105.

The morning workshop will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The evening workshop will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m.

The workshops are free, but space is limited. Registration ends Feb. 14.

Register by emailing candidate coordinator Jennifer D’Agostino at candidate@VoteBrevard.com or by calling 321-633-2166.